Mercy-Human

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1.

Mercifulness, then, is a gracious disposition toward our fellow creatures and fellow Christians. It is a spirit of kindness and benevolence which sympathizes with the sufferings of the afflicted, so that we weep with those that weep. It ennobles its possessor so that he tempers justice with mercy, and scorns the taking of revenge.

[Mercy] is the forgiving spirit; it is the non-retaliating spirit; it is the spirit that gives up all attempt at self-vindication and would not return an injury for an injury, but rather good in the place of evil and love in the place of hatred. That is mercifulness. Mercy being received by the forgiven soul, that soul comes to appreciate the beauty of mercy, and yearns to exercise toward other offenders similar grace to that which is exercised towards one’s self.

Mercy, like the regions of space, has no limit, and as these stretch away before the traveler who looks out from the farthest star, so the loftiest intellect and the largest heart can discover no bounds to mercy. Like our Father in heaven, we are to forgive without stint, forgiving as we expect to be forgiven.

True Christian mercy, that which will be accepted in the sight of God, and receive His smile; that which will ensure His gracious and unmerited reward, and which will have no slight connection with our celestial happiness, is exercised in designed obedience to God's command, in express imitation of His conduct, and with an earnest desire to promote His glory.

Mercy even with us is an optional virtue; we do not have to be merciful. We usually admire people who are, but we do not say that people must be so. We say everybody must be just. We say, for example, an employer, if he agrees to pay a certain wage, must pay that particular wage. If he does not pay it, then he is unjust and is liable to a lawsuit. All our contracts are based on the integrity and honesty and justice of people with whom we do business. They are actually subject to trials and imprisonment and even execution if they violate their duty of man to man. What about mercy among men? We love it. We admire it. We encourage it. We sometimes practice it. But we do not say mercy is obligatory… If this is true even of human affairs, we can see immediately that God does not have to be merciful. He gave us life and conscience. He gave us intelligence to meet our obligations, and He has a right to hold us responsible for using them. He has no further obligation to forgive us if we do not. We say that the Judge of all the earth cannot do wrong, but we cannot say that the Judge of all the earth must be merciful.

Could it be that many of our problems with prayer and much of our weakness in prayer come from the fact that we are not all on active duty, and yet we still try to use the transmitter? We have taken a wartime walkie-talkie and tried to turn it into a civilian intercom to call the servants for another cushion in the den… We see repeatedly in Scripture (Mt. 9:38; Lk. 21:34-36; Rom. 15:30-31; Eph. 6:12, 17-19; Col. 4:3; 2 Thes. 3:1) that prayer is a walkie-talkie for warfare, not a domestic intercom for increasing our conveniences.

Reference: Blessed are the Merciful, Sermon: Matthew 5:7, February 23, 1986, www.DesiringGod.org. Used by Permission.

The noun [mercy] and its derivatives always deal with what we see of pain, misery, and distress, these results of sin; and grace always with the sin and the guilt itself. The one extends relief, the other pardon; the one cures, heals, helps, the other cleanses and reinstates. With God [grace] is always first and [mercy] is second.

Yes, our deeds of mercy is a platform to help people believe the Gospel, but that is not the primary reason for mercy. Mercy is ultimately a natural expression from those who already believe the Gospel.

He who has had mercy on us will be the One to judge us, with Christ’s own righteous and merciful character being the essential criterion for evaluation. Those who have received mercy in Christ will be merciful to others, receiving mercy from Christ on the Day of Judgment.

Distinguish grace from mercy:
Grace-God’s solution to man’s sin.
Mercy-God’s solution to man’s misery.
Grace-Covers the sin.
Mercy-Removes the pain.
Grace-Gives us what we do not deserve.
Mercy-Does not give us what we do deserve
Grace-Unearned favor which saves us.
Mercy-Undeserved favor which forgives us.
Grace-Deals with the cause of sin.
Mercy-Deals with the symptoms of sin.
Grace-Offers pardon for the crime.
Mercy-Offers relief from the punishment.
Grace-Cures or heals the “disease.”
Mercy-Eliminates the pain of the “disease.”
Grace-Regarding salvation it says, “Heaven.”
Mercy-Regarding salvation it says, “No Hell.”
Grace-Says, “I pardon you.”
Mercy-Says, “I pity you”